Jen Cloher
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Jen Cloher

Scroll through Jen Cloher’s Facebook and you’ll soon come across a picture of her sitting alone at a small table with a glass of wine as her only company as she stares out the window contemplating the year. But did anything stand out?
“There’s been a few,” Jen says. The list is quite long, and easily shows that Jen has had a pretty great year. Amidst releasing a 10” inch vinyl compilation through her record with fellow musician Courtney Barnett, playing Meredith Music Festival and releasing a few duets with Tim Rogers, performing a show at the Howler as Stringer Dyson Cloher was her highlight.
“It was just one of those magical shows where everything felt really good, it sounded really amazing and the audience were just incredible. It was just one of those stand-out shows. It’s been a really great year,” she beams.
To top off the great gig, Jen drove to Meredith to perform at – as she puts it – one of the best festivals in Australia the very next day to play a Sunday slot.
“It’s kind of weird because everyone is up on the Saturday night – if you know what I mean – and Sunday is much more chilled and people are just waking up and hearing your music,” she says.
“You’re kind of playing to a crowd that’s sitting under trees, feeling the sun and just trying to get rehydrated. It was hard at times to tell whether people were digging it or not because they’re not all out in the paddock going crazy. Then we got so much great feedback so we realised that, actually, a lot of people were there listening, which was great.
“It was one of those festivals that I’ve always wanted to play so it was good to finally get there and play with a band that I love and songs that I’m really enjoying playing.”
It mightn’t have necessarily been a hectic year for Jen, but for now the musician is taking some time out in Rosebud with friends – and two brown labs – before she heads to Beechworth Music Festival in early 2015.
“From all accounts I’ve heard of the festival it’s really great and they’re all real big music lovers,” she says. “And I think on the grounds is like an old asylum or something, so that’s interesting. I’m sure it will have a vibe about it.”
As for a new album, there were whisperings of a possible 7” vinyl single to be realised in 2015, further embracing her new rock’n’roll sound, but for anything longer it seems like we’ll have to wait until 2016 – though Jen promises it to be a goodie and possibly her best yet.
“It’s just a bit more confident and we’re taking more risks as players. When we recorded Blood Memory it would have been the very beginning of 2013, so you just naturally evolve as a band. It will definitely be in the rock vein but even more dynamic and interesting, Jen says.
When&Where: Beechworth Music Festival – January 24
By Amanda Sherring